Here is my delectable baklava recipe. Several of my Turkish friends have requested me to share the recipe, and I’ve been told that cinnamon gives it a great touch.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 24 |
| Yield: | 24 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups white sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ pounds chopped almonds
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter, melted
- 1 (16 ounce) package frozen phyllo pastry, thawed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups sugar, water, honey, cinnamon stick, lemon and vanilla. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes, skimming any foam that is formed. Set side.
- In a small bowl, combine chopped almonds, 2 tablespoons sugar, ground cinnamon and cloves; set aside. Brush butter on bottom of a 9×13 inch pan. Each sheet of phyllo dough is twice as big as the pan, so cut each in half, making 2 sheets. Place a sheet of phyllo on bottom of pan, and brush with melted butter. Repeat process for a total of 8 sheets, buttering each. Sprinkle about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of nut mixture evenly over the phyllo, and cover with 4 more sheets, buttering each. Continue sprinkling nuts after every 4 sheets of phyllo, until all but 8 sheets (4 full sheets) are used.
- Use remaining 8 sheets for the top layer, buttering each sheet of phyllo. Before buttering the last sheet, tuck in any loose edges. Press down layers with palms of your hands. Pour remaining butter over the top. With a large knife, cut 5 strips lengthwise about 1/2 inch deep, then cut diagonally to form diamond shapes.
- Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven, and immediately pour syrup over baklava. Allow to cool thoroughly. Cut diamonds to go all the way through, and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 435 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 45 g |
| Cholesterol | 31 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 9 g |
| Sodium | 93 mg |
| Sugars | 31 g |
| Fat | 27 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I’ve made this recipe (minus the cloves, and substituting about 3/4lb of pistachios) a few dozen times, and each time is pretty consistent. There are friends that request this all the time and I’m making it for my friend’s kid’s birthday tonight.
This was too soggy. Smelled great. Either too much syrup or too much butter on each layer
Easy and was delicious
Did not use all sugar for sauce, just half and added orange peel also with cinnamon
Best recipe for Baklava! Love it!
Baklava proved to be tedious but kind of fun to make. The result was WONDERFUL! Took it to a party with friends and it was a hit. I didn’t use all of the syrup, about 3/4 and it came out just right.
This came out terrific! A little time-consuming, but all in all, pretty easy l make. I had no cinnamon sticks so left it out, using only the cinnamon mixed in with the nuts. I’m not sure if it was a typo, but we had about 3/4# of nuts left over even though we used ? cup on each layer as instructed. I also only used about ½-?’s of the simple syrup that is poured over it at the end, and think it was perfect that way. Thanks for so much for this wonderful recipe…so many compliments!
I like this recipe because it has more syrup than others do and because of the amount of honey-taste that comes through. I always need a bit more butter than recipe calls for; I butter every sheet. I don’t have a scale but use 4 cups of nuts that I then chop up – some fine, others a bit bigger for better “mouth feel”. A mixture of walnuts, pistachios and almonds is interesting. When making, I cover the filo with the plastic sheet it’s wrapped in and then use a towel on top – works fine. Today I poured cold syrup over hat baklava; I’ll next try hot syrup over cold baklava. I added orange peel to the syrup – about 1/3 of the orange – hubby wants more next time. Spices for the nut mixture were cinnamon, allspice and a touch of nutmeg. My only caveat is on the syrup – don’t turn your back on it or it can boil over very fast. It is better on day 2-3 after flavors blend.
Best Ever
This recipe is really close to the one I once got from my Greek landlady. I use pecans instead of almonds, since I have so many pecan trees in my yard. I also use brown sugar to mix with the nuts for layering, for a richer baklava.
This was too sweet for my family.
ditto on too much nuts. used mostly honey and a little water and no sugar. This is just cuz I have lots of honey from the hive that I wanted to use. It turned out pretty good. 3 cups honey + 1ish cup water.
This was SOOOOOOO good. And really easy! My daughter and I made it together. It does take some time, but not as much as I had anticipated. It got rave reviews from co-workers. Thanks for sharing!
I was very nervous working with the phyllo dough, it is so delicate. This recipe was very easy to follow, i just wished I had followed it more closely… 🙂 That being said, you have to remember how many layers you have put down. Also, don’t use too many nuts… I unfortunately added too many nuts 🙁 I had a variety of nuts almonds, walnuts and pecans…again too many. Oh well, it did have a good flavor, just too many nuts…one more thing, i took out 1 cup of sugar, because you are already adding 1 cup of honey. It was ok with, that but next time, I might go with 1/2 cup of sugar and 1 cup of honey and see how that goes… good luck… 🙂
we just like it
EXCELLENT!!!!!!
Made this three times so far. My middle eastern friends couldn’t get enough! Many compliments!! Worth the time. Use spray margarine rather than melted butter and a pastry brush.
Has anyone tried to freeze this recipe and use later? I have a big party and want to make some desserts ahead of time.
It was fairly easy and tasty. I made just a tad bit extra syrup as a couple of the reviews said it was dry. I was unsure if I was supposed to butter the top so I only brushed on a little. Learn from my mistake and brush every other layer on top. The top was a little too crisp and didn’t stick to the rest of it. It was still good, you just had to hold the top on. I copied another reviewer and added a little brown sugar to the nut mixture. Yum!
I made this 2 christmases ago and was talking about making it again. People who I didn’t even know who tried it that night remember it and tell me how good it was, still. I tried Baklava in 2003 and I didn’t know where I could buy it until I found this recipe, I can marinate in the yummyness of this treat. That night 2 years ago, it was gone before I could grab a piece.
Thanks so much for a great recipe! No Greek restaurant has yet come close, where we live at least, even if they say it’s made there by Greeks, it’s not nearly as good. This comes so close to what we had in Turkey! So tasty and syrupy! An added note…I made it for Thanksgiving, or so I thought, but the pan is empty! Just in case you don’t have unsalted butter or almonds as I didn’t, no one noticed that I used salted butter and walnuts which I normaly do. My one son and husband couldn’t get enough of it. I’d give it more stars if possible. Thanks to Stephanie suggesting the dough can be partially frozen, I’ll try that next time.